Trad Gang
Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: Arkansaslongbow on May 24, 2011, 12:39:00 AM
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ALL traditional bows is a work of art and I "drool" over some of the bows that are pictured here on this forum but anyone using/hunting with a bow that is consisdered "mass produced"? some of the most incrediable bows are of the Bear line and many others to go along with it;
I long to some day own a custom made bow and I will but until then I am hunting with a longbow that is not considered custom but does a great job; anyone else doing the same?
:campfire:
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I am sure there have been tons of deer killed with production bows over the years. If i pick up a bow and it shoots good and fits me It doesnt matter if its custom or production. The one custom I will order in the near future is from Elmer Patton in Wynne. His bows are very nice and every one I have shot have been absolute shooters
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I like good shooting bows whether they are custom or production. I have had poor bows in both also. Shoot what you like and your budget will allow, either will get you there.
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I have owned many bows and still do that are considered 'production' bows . They shoot just as good as anything else I have shot and have often ben better made .
A Martin Hunter is one of the best performing bows you can buy IMHO ...
The differences , generally at hunting range regarding bows etc are generally greatly overstated .
Ain't nothing prettier than a Bear Kodiak !
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My only bow at the moment is a production bow, and I do hunt with it although I'm not terrible successful as I'm only learning. That said I have my first custom bow in the making, a Hill style longbow by David Miller 52#@27, can't wait.
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I by-passed all my customs to hunt with a metal-risered production recurve with "factory camo" this past season. I went with the set-up that I felt I shot best.
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I personaliy shoot mainly custom bows but I think its more what you like & what you want & what fits you & your budget.
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The first deer I shot and a P&Y trophy if I decided to register it was with a $150.00 off the shelf bow. Nothing wrong with production equipment.
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Have done. Martin Hunter, 60#. One brumby, two donkeys, one buffalo, one goat. It's the bow that got me hooked.
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Proline Saxon Hunter, 75#@28" & 68" ntn. My 1st heavy hunting lb 30 years ago. One of my favorites & still hunt it.
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Will probably be hunting with my samick stingray, this is the bow I am most accurate with right now.
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I shoot with a Bear Grizzly (Gainesville)), Kodiak Magnum (Grayling), and i added a Kodiak Hunter (Grayling), there is something special to me about hunting with bear recurves, i have the rest of my compounds on another site for sale, shoulder injury sidelined me for 4 years from shooting my recurves and now i am back and if i get what i want for the compounds i will have one of the new Super Kodiaks, i get to impatient waitng for custom made bows (my bad), i really want a Shrew but wow i may be hunting with Fred himself by the time it gets made 12-18 months a lot can happen.
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From time to time I enjoy shooting my Bears and Damon Howatts,they are just a little too light in poundage for what I am used to,but I love to hunt with them.
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I own a half dozen custom bows, and have had many more than that over the years.
But I've really been drawn to the older production bows lately. Last fall it was a '68 Bear Super Kodiak. This spring it has been a Damon Howatt Super Diablo.
I love the craftsmanship and beautiful woods in a nice custom. But some of the production bows will stack arrows right along with the best of them and look great too!
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I love the Damon Howatt line too.
A FANTASTIC production takedown was the Martin Hatfield.
Was never a big Bear archery fan only because I prefer longer bows, but had a 64" 55# '66 Kodiak that was a heck of a shooter for me. And any of them that had the bubinga/zebrawood combo look as good as any custom.
But to hit on the topic, I agree with you a custom bow is a great luxury to have, but not a necessity by any means.
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I would have gone with the Bear Montana longbow if I didn't travel so much making a one piece more difficult. I passed one up for @ 150 for the take down. I did the math and as cheap as the Montana was I would have paid for it in the long run 1 or 2 trips with airline fees so that is the only reason why I went for the takedown if I didn't travel I'd have a Montana Bear.
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I hunted with a Bear Montana for years. My brother still hunts with a Martin Hunter, imo it is the best production bow money can buy and outperforms many of the top custom bows.
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58" Red Wing hunters are probably my favorite production bows for hunting. Light, quick, smooth; what's not to like?
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I have a Dick Palmer Hunter longbow that is a semi-customized Martin ML-10 (limbs reworked to trapezoidal cross-section). before that a Bear Kodiak Hunter. For many years most recent a Martin Dream Catcher. Taking a 1966 Browning Explorer out this fall and I have a new-to-me Ben Pearson Hunter (1965) I hope to bloody after the Browing.
Probably never will own a custom bow. It ain't the bow - it's the arrows. ;-)
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I do enjoy hunting with my Quinn Longhorn T/D. A tough reliale bow for sure.
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I still use my Browning Backpacker II a lot.
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PS - what do you consider a custom bow vs. a small-run production bow with various minor options? :biglaugh:
A lot of the production bows were very much hand laid-up and crafted. Still are. And last I knew a lot of "custom" makers used outsourced mass-produced laminated limbs.
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Hey Charlie,
What was that bow you brought with you to this past stump shoot up at Ken's, You know, the one you kicked our butts with ? I think that was a so called production bow.
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custom bows are like custom guns, they are very pretty and fit your personal likes whether it be color, styling, weight, grip, etc etc. A 200 savage kills deer just as dead and accurately as a 10,000 custom rifle. The same can be said for a 140 ragim bow or a 1500 custom bow.
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A bear kodiak hunter and martin savannah are what I'm using now.I'd love to be able to order a custom bow but I'm happy to be hunting with what I have.
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I just got a 69' Bear Grizzly 56" that just seems to shoot great! Will likly shoot my 1st deer with it this fall than switch back to my longbow.
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Originally posted by njloco:
Hey Charlie,
What was that bow you brought with you to this past stump shoot up at Ken's, You know, the one you kicked our butts with ? I think that was a so called production bow.
LOL! I had my share of boot-prints to sit on for the ride home.
That's the Browning Explorer. Pretty darned good shooter for 1966 design & glass. Five laminations in the limbs. A Harry Drake design. Paid a whopping $110 for it but it took a while to find. THE ADMIRAL has instructions to have it cremated with me.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v169/Stumpkiller/Bowhunting/Stumpkiller17APR11.jpg)
It cost someone $64.50 in 1966. So figure at today's prices that's about $1,050 to $1,200. ;-) I had a VW Beetle that was a '66 and it cost $1,400 new!
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Not right now ,but I have in the past. Ben Pearson, Bear Kodiak, Grizzly and Montana,Howatt Hunter. Still have a Kodiak Hunter[1967]and a Grizzly[1974]. All good bows that will get the job done. I still would like to find a light Martin/Howatt Mamba sometime!! Not that I need one...lol!!! :dunno:
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Many bows have come and gone, but one I have hung on too for over 20 years is a Hoyt 3 pc recurve made in Korea by I believe, Samick. 58" and 55# at 28. after I reworked the shelf it just feels comfortable to shoot and it shoots where I look. although The only thing pretty about it was the price.
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Picking up on what Charlie asked, I'm not sure I really know the difference between a custom bow and a production bow.
Oh, it's pretty easy to tell the difference at the ends of the spectrum: when a factory mass-produces bows out of the same materials to the same standards, those are production bows; when a bowyer carves a bow out of a yew stave, allowing for the individual knots and bends in that particular stave, that is a custom bow.
But what about a bow that is cut out by a computer-controlled machine to exacting tolerances, such that if you want extra limbs later on, all you have to do is order them? That bow may be made out of wood lams you personally selected, have a custom grip, and be tillered to your style of holding the string, so by the time you get it, it may not be exactly like any other bow in the world, except it may have the same tolerances and limb fit as a thousand other bows made to the same specifications.
I like 'em all, if I like the way they shoot. I'll probably never sell my DAS Dalaa or my Strunk self-bow, which are on opposite ends of the custom spectrum, but I've bought and sold plenty of bows in between that looked real pretty to me at the time I bought them, but I ended up not liking the way they shot.
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I hunt with a pearson stallion.
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The way I see it, a bow is only "custom" when made specifically for me, to my specs, and the dimensions, etc. that I want. If I then sell that bow to somebody else it is not "custom" for them, but rather just one made by a single bowyer (maybe). Maybe others define it differently, but that's how I see it (and I'm right 99.6% of the time). :D
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My first trad bow was a 2009 Bear Grizzly, about as production as you can get, I guess.
If I hadn't stumbled across this site and seen all the goodies I would probably still happily be shooting it as my only bow!
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Never had one. Production bows have always been good enough for me- I'm too hard on them to pay big money for custom.
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My youngest son hunts with an old Damon Howatt Rosewood Diablo and will not even consider a different bow and it is beautiful
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I love my Lost Creek, but I also love my Savannah equally. I really learned how to shoot on that bow. I bought some good arrows, got my Savannah, and shot that target at 15 yards everyday. When I started breaking nocks, I moved back to 20. That bow is directly responsible for the shooter I am right now, and will never leave me.
On Friday, I hope to shoot a Martin Hunter at Cabelas and I can't wait! Had my eye on one of these for a while but haven't had a chance to shoot one yet... So excited...
Custom bows are awesome. Like I said, I love my Lost Creek. But you really can't beat some of the production bows out there. It's the shooter who makes the shot, not the bow.
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This year I do not know if I will hunt with my Pearson Hunter or the Astro II. The Pearson is my first bow, got it back in 1967, just before I shipping out to Nam. Had to wait until I got back to hunt with it. The Astro I got in 1974, still enjoy shooting it. Both bows have taken deer, hog, elk and rabbits. So I am stuck on a hard decision, as I enjoy both.
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To my surprise my favorite is a production bow. Whatever makes you happy.
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Yip. I got 4 of them.